SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Before there was "American Idol," "The Voice" or "Dancing With The Stars," there was...
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR SEARCH")
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: "Star Search."
SIMON: NPR's Chloe Veltman reports the hit 1980s and '90s TV talent show is getting a Netflix reboot with a twist for the TikTok generation.
CHLOE VELTMAN, BYLINE: The original "Star Search" wasn't the first TV talent contest, but it helped propel more than its fair share of budding stars into the stratosphere. Britney Spears...
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR SEARCH")
BRITNEY SPEARS: (Singing) Love can build a bridge.
VELTMAN: ...Dave Chappelle...
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR SEARCH")
DAVE CHAPPELLE: You guys notice Batman never fights crime in neighborhoods that need it?
VELTMAN: ...And Beyonce...
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR SEARCH")
BEYONCE: (Singing) I've got a secret but I ain't gonna tell ya.
VELTMAN: ...All got a big push from "Star Search," though none of them went on to win it.
JESSE COLLINS: We're trying to recreate that energy, where everyone on this show can be a star and deserves to be.
VELTMAN: Jesse Collins is the executive producer of Netflix's new "Star Search" reboot. The nine-episode series, which premiered this week, has many of the same ingredients as the original - a cast of adorable young talent like 10-year-old country singer Blair Kudelka.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR SEARCH")
BLAIR KUDELKA: (Singing) I'm so lonesome for you.
VELTMAN: An avuncular host and actor, Anthony Anderson.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR SEARCH")
ANTHONY ANDERSON: But it's past your bedtime right now, so go home.
VELTMAN: And a panel of celebrity judges. In this case, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, rapper Jelly Roll and model Chrissy Teigen.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR SEARCH")
ANDERSON: Chrissy.
CHRISSY TEIGEN: Three stars.
VELTMAN: But there are differences. Perhaps most significantly, Collins says...
COLLINS: The audience is truly the fourth judge.
VELTMAN: Viewers around the world get a say in who wins by voting on performances with their TV remote or phone in real time, and they get to find out the results almost immediately.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR SEARCH")
ANDERSON: Our three judges gave you a total score of 3.6 stars. But that's not all that matters. Let's see what the fourth judge, the viewers around the world, gave you.
VELTMAN: Today's stars are now often born on YouTube and TikTok, rather than mainstream TV. Netflix is betting on a combination of nostalgia for the original show and the instant gratification brought about by the real-time interactivity of the new one to make "Star Search" stand out. In an email statement to NPR, the streamer's vice president of Unscripted Series, Jeff Gaspin, says, quote, "this level of immediacy turns a passive viewing experience into a live interactive event." Not everyone thinks it will work.
JAMES PONIEWOZIK: I think people look to television for, you know, a more passive experience, and they look to other screens for a more active experience.
VELTMAN: James Poniewozik is The New York Times' chief TV critic. He says the return of "Star Search" reveals bifurcated ambitions for Netflix. On the one hand, Poniewozik says the streamer is trying to make itself the go-to for all sorts of content, just like old-fashioned network TV.
PONIEWOZIK: We got a little something for everybody. We got reality, and we've got dramas, and we got comedies and we got, you know, now, sports, boxing, whatever.
VELTMAN: On the other hand, the critic says, streamers like Netflix have purposefully brought about a very different viewing landscape, one where people can watch most anything at any time.
PONIEWOZIK: Kind of breaks up the audience in that way, from the kind of global village that made a show like "Star Search" possible.
VELTMAN: "Star Search" host Anthony Anderson acknowledges it's a challenge watching TV right now because of the abundance of choices, but he's leaning into his show's pedigree.
ANDERSON: When you say "Star Search," people know exactly what that was and what they're going to get with that show.
VELTMAN: Anderson says he's confident viewers will continue to tune in for that.
Chloe Veltman, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A STAR (TO BE IN MY SHOW)")
MARILYN MCCOO: (Singing) You don't have to be a star. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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